Las Vegas Valley distressed-home sales fall to lowest level in years

With fewer foreclosures and underwater borrowers in Las Vegas, distressed-home sales fell to the lowest level in years in 2017, according to newly released data.

Foreclosure sales — or homes sold by lenders who had repossessed them — comprised 2 percent of Las Vegas Valley resales last year. That’s down from 4 percent in 2016 and 43 percent in 2011, during the recession, according to figures from Applied Analysis, a local research and consulting firm.

Short sales — when lenders agree to sell a home for less than what’s owed on the mortgage — accounted for 2.9 percent of resales last year. That’s down from 4.2 percent in 2016 and 27.6 percent in 2012.

Distressed-home sales have been sliding for years in Southern Nevada as the housing market and the broader economy have recovered from the economic crash. Lenders aren’t targeting nearly as many delinquent borrowers as they used to, and homeowners across the valley have escaped underwater status — meaning their mortgage outweighed their home value — amid rising prices.

Still, it wasn’t too long ago that distressed homes were the bulk of the resale market in Las Vegas, ground zero for America’s housing boom and bust.